he's a friend of mine, and i'm happy for him. we're going back to the center of the earth now to be with the lizard people. missile crisis on the korean peninsula, washington walking a fine line as the north talks again of a nuclear attack. murder at one of the most secure spots in america. a manhunt under way right now after a shooting at ft. knox. man versus shark. new this morning, a surfer suddenly attacked at a vacation hotspot. you guys probably heard the news i'm going to be taking over for "the tonight show" next february. >> i want to congratulate our good friend, jimmy fallon. he is a hell of a guy. >> passing the baton on "the tonight show." leno's out, fallon's in, and while you were sleeping, both hosts had a little something to say about it. good morning. welcome to "early start."

i'm christine romans. >> i'm john berman. zoraida is off this week. it is thursday, april 4th. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east and we're going to start with the military situation. it seems ever more perilous this morning. warships launching, new missile defense systems deployed and the language getting flat-out dangerous. the korean peninsula might be the world's number one hotspot right now, the north threatening to block workers from the south from entering a shared industrial complex, even vowing to shut the facility down. pyongyang also promising attacks on the u.s. with a smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear force, and north korea also warns the moment of explosion is fast approaching. and will the pentagon announce it's moving a ballistic missile defense system to guam two years ahead of schedule, and there is also word out of washington this morning that it wants to try to dial down the rhetoric. we are all over this story this morning. dan lothian is live from washington, but we're going to begin in south korea with jim clancy.

>> reporter: a spokesman for south korea's defense ministry was clear that details are not going to be released, but it is believed the north koreans are moving or repositioning some medium-ranged missiles to the east coast. now, that is where the u.s. already has a couple of destroyers as well as a radar platform to monitor a suspected upcoming missile test. at the same time the news came from washington that an advanced antimissile system was going to be deployed in guam. that is the site of one of the largest u.s. bases in the pacific. now, in other news, the threats against the united states just keep coming, repeats, really, of what we saw last week, saying the u.s. had better ponder over the grave situation. the moments of explosion is approaching fast. the north koreans repeated those threats against the u.s. mainland, hawaii and u.s. bases

here as well as u.s. forces in south korea. the south korean defense ministry noted that it was prepared for anything but said it was unlikely there would be a major event. the south koreans and the americans are keeping a close watch to ensure that the north koreans don't take advantage of the situation to engage in some kind of a smaller strike. meantime, the only symbol of cooperation between north and south continued to have more problems. and once again, the north said that it would pull all of its 53,000 workers out of the kaesong industrial complex that's located just on the northern side of the demilitarized zone inside north korea. it's a joint venture with some 123 south korean firms whose workers are no longer able to enter kaesong. some do remain inside the facility, but they report that they are running out of the raw goods in order to carry out

manufacturing and assembly. all in all, a very tense time, but at the same time, the u.s. and south korea continue their military maneuvers that are really aimed to be a deterrent to the north, a deterrent that has worked for many years. jim clancy, cnn, seoul. all right, concern in the white house this morning that the flexing of u.s. military might has pushed north korea too far. according to the "wall street journal," the obama administration has decided to turn down the volume. white house correspondent dan lothian live from washington on that part of the story for us this morning. dan, this report reveals that the administration has a game plan for showing military force, but it also says the white house is now dialing back. why? >> reporter: well, you're right. i mean, the report talks about sort of this playbook, if you will, that has specific steps that was signed off on by the administration. essentially, the u.s. flexing its muscles to try to turn down the temperature, not only in north korea but also in the region there.

but this report pointing out that the steps that the u.s. has taken may have been more provocative, may have pushed and provoked this new leader, kim jong-un, more than intended, so they're dialing things back just a bit. keep in mind that the u.s. presence has been increasing in the region in recent weeks starting back on march 8th when the u.s. flew b-52s as part of what was described as a routine mission. then about 2 1/2 weeks later, a repeat mission was also conducted. and then on the 28th, about two days later after that last b-52 mission, stealth bombers were sent to the region. earlier this week, navy ships sent just off the coast as well with a platform for radar communications and so forth. and then just yesterday, the u.s. announcing that a missile defense system would be sent to guam in recent weeks. so, all these steps part of a playbook, according to the report, but now put on hold as the u.s. tries to assess the situation there in north korea. >> and it's just so hard to

gauge what the reaction's going to be of the north koreans. i mean, quite frankly, it's, you know, it's a hermit -- we just don't know how they're going to react, so how do you balance strong response while not pushing north korea into a corner? >> reporter: you know, that is such an important question, and i think, you know, it has been very confusing for u.s. officials because as everyone has been saying, you know, there has been sort of this history of these kinds of threats, but there is this sense now that this new leader may be more unpredictable, perhaps more dangerous than his father. nonetheless, defense secretary chuck hagel says that the u.s. cannot take any chances. >> it only takes being wrong on once, and i don't want to be the secretary of defense who was wrong once. so, we will continue to take these threats seriously. i hope the north will ratchet this very dangerous rhetoric down. there is a pathway that's

responsible for the north to get on a path to peace, working with their neighbors. >> again, the warning to north korea is to stop this kind of rhetoric, these provocative acts, because they will only serve to isolate them from the international community. christine? >> dan lothian in washington. thanks, dan. >> ten minutes after the hour. happening right now, the search is on for a man who opened fire at ft. knox, killing a civilian worker for the u.s. army. remember, this is one of the most secure locations on earth. investigators in kentucky say yesterday's shooting took place in a parking lot. they describe it as a personal incident. it triggered a temporary lockdown of ft. knox that's been lifted, but security is still heightened at the entrance and exit gates. the victim's identity has not been released. also happening now, a manhunt for two members of the white supremacist gang 211 crew. they're wanted in connection with the murder of colorado state's prison chief tom clements. 37-year-old james lohr and

31-year-old thomas goulee are considered armed and dangerous. authorities say one or both of them could be headed to nevada. an el paso county sheriff spokesman would not say whether the pair knew evan ebel, the man suspected of killing clements. and a disturbing letter, by the way, has surfaced, written by ebel to a friend back in 2006. in it, he discusses fantasies about catching prison guards once he's freed, torturing and eventually killing them. the letter is signed with a swastika and he calls himself "big bad evil evan ebel." ebel was killed in a shoot-out with texas deputies last month. coming up tonight on cnn's "ac 360," an exclusive interview with the wife of murdered colorado prison chief tom clements. new this morning, hours ago, the state of connecticut putting the nation's toughest gun laws on the books less than four months after the massacre at sandy hook elementary school. early this morning, the state house passed a measure that adds more than 100 guns to the list of banned assault weapons and

selling large-capacity magazines is illegal. governor dan malloy is expected to sign the bill at noon. much of the law takes effect as soon as the ink hits the paper. a southern california man hospitalized in hawaii after a giant shark takes a bite out of his leg. this horrifying incident happening wednesday morning at kanipawi beach off the coast of maui. the victim described the shark's head as the size of a basketball. he's being treated for two huge gashes to his side. a fellow surfer from detroit saw it happen. >> at one point, i saw a large shadow come right underneath me. i really thought it was a seal. a few minutes later, i heard this kerplunk, a large splash. there was just me and another guy, so it hit me that was probably a shark. >> authorities say based on the injuries, the shark was probably eight to ten feet long. and that beach is full of kids, surfers, people watching whales. i mean, this is a really packed beach, a lot of people go there in maui.

a search is going on this morning for a shipyard worker missing after a carnival cruise ship broke loose from a dock. carnival says the "triumph," you know that one, is now secure, but no word where that worker is. the fire department says he and another man were inside a guard shack when near hurricane-force winds blew it into the water in mobile, alabama. on twitter, fire officials say the coast guard and other agencies now consider the search a recovery operation. the "triumph" was docked at the shipyard for repairs following a disastrous february cruise. okay, one hiker has been found, but his friend is still lost in the backcountry of orange county, california. the two cal state fullerton students went hiking on sunday but couldn't find their way out. their cell phone died before searchers could nail down their location. 19-year-old nicholas destroya was found last night about a half mile from his car dehydrated and confused, but alive. searchers are confident they will final 18-year-old kyndall jack. former basketball coach mike

rice is apologizing for his shocking behavior in the practice video that's gone viral. rice was fired after the video surfaced showing him abusing players and shouting gay slurs. rice says there's no explanation for what's on that tape. meantime, the school's athletic director is now under scrutiny for his handling of the case. ken frenetti saw the video last fall but decided a fine and punishment was enough for rice. jay leno is out and jimmy fallon is in as host of "the tonight show" beginning in february of next year. fallon was emotional as he talked about it last night. >> i'm just so excited to just keep working hard and we're trying to make the best show that we can along with you guys. i've got to say thanks to jay leno for being so gracious. i know this whole thing -- [ applause ] it means so much to me to have his support. >> so, this is what the nbc late-night transition will look like. this is the second time we've seen this. after congratulating fallon, jay leno couldn't help but take another shot at his employer.

>> i just have one request of jimmy. we've all fought, kicked and scratched to get this network up to fifth place, okay? now we have to keep it there. jimmy, don't let it slip into sixth! we're counting on you! we're counting on you, jimmy! >> nbc is moving "the tonight show" from los angeles back to its original home in new york city. i think even the original sound stage. they're rebuilding the studio. >> welcome back to new york. everyone was talking about it last night, though, on late-night tv, letterman. >> andrew cuomo, the governor of new york, even issued a statement on it. >> everyone is talk being this. 12 minutes after the hour. coming up, a sheriff shot to death in his patrol car. we'll have more on the brazen attack and the suspect. a live report coming up next. welcome to the new new york state. what's the "new" in the new new york? a new property tax cap... and the lowest middle class income tax rate in 60 years... and a billion dollars in tax breaks and incentives. new opportunities for business.

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virginia, say 37-year-old dennis maynard parked his car close to sheriff walter crum's suv and shot him twice in the head through a window. susan candiotti is live in williamson, west virginia. susan, bring us up to speed on the latest. >> reporter: christine, this has really taken this small town by shock. you know, they're in shock at this moment, trying to figure out how this happened. and maybe the biggest question is, how did it happen? part of the answer might come in something we have learned that the suspect in this case said to police after he was arrested. the suspect, 37-year-old tennis maynard. authorities are not saying what they told him after they caught up with him. they said it could be interpreted in different ways, but they indicate it might lead them to a motive. all of this happened, as you indicated, in broad daylight at about noontime when sheriff eugene crum was sitting in his parked, marked vehicle, an suv, just a couple blocks from where

i'm standing at the courthouse here, as he often did, eating his lunch in the car when a suspect pulled up behind him, got out of his car, walked up and shot through the sheriff's window at point blank range, striking him twice in the head. well, a witness took down the tag number of the suspect's car, called 911. they caught up with him. the suspect crashed his car, got out of it and then pointed a gun at deputies, and they shot him. the community is simply stunned. >> it broke my heart. the best sheriff the county has ever seen and ever will see probably. he did more in less time of being in office than any sheriff i've ever known. >> heartbreaking. heartbreaking. the whole community just heartbroken. he really cares and he was really doing the right thing for the county and to keep our kids safe. >> reporter: you know, this is a

coal mining town of about 40,000 people or so, christine. >> what do we know about the suspect? any indication of a motive right now? i know you say that authorities say he gave some indications after his arrest, but what do we know about him? >> reporter: well, we don't know all that much. we don't know, for example, whether he has a prior record, because authorities won't share that information. in the state they don't have a public records law. however, the father told one of our affiliates, wsaz, that his son suffered from mental problems and that he had been involved in an industrial accident in alabama a few years back and was suffering from some chemical reactions to something that happened during that accident. so, we'll have to wait and see what happens. there is a vigil here tonight at 8:00 at the courthouse for this crime-fighting sheriff. christine? >> all right, susan candiotti, thank you very much. 18 minutes after the hour right now. let's get you up to date on the other big news today. north korea now threatening to block workers from the south from entering a shared industrial complex, even vowing to shut down the facility

altogether. the north also pledging to launch nuclear attacks against the u.s., warning that the moment of explosion is approaching fast. two men are dead this morning after their helicopter crashed in a miami parking lot and burst into flames. witnesses say they could hear the engine sputtering before the chopper plunged straight down. an ntsb spokesman said initial reports show there were birds in the area. there may have been problems with the helicopter's tail roeder. through the guardrail, off the bridge and 50 feet down to the pavement. this suv took just a steep plunge last night in downtown atlanta. you can see firefighters putting a neck brace on the driver right there. they think he had some kind of medical problem before the crash probably. all three people in the jeep went to the hospital, but luckily, they should be okay. the driver was cited for not having a license. there he goes. a florida panther returned to the wild. scientists rescued this guy and his sister nearly two years ago when they were kittens. their mother had died. the sister was we leased in february, but they have

monitoring collars on so scientists can keep track of them. fewer than 200 panthers are believed to be left in south florida. >> big cats. two big pieces of news today from the tech world. apple's new massive tv and facebook's new phone. we've got details on both of those, next. >> cool. what if you could shrink your pores just by washing your face? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® pore refining cleanser. alpha-hydroxy and exfoliating beads work to clean and tighten pores so they can look half their size. pores...shrink 'em down to size! [ female announcer ] pore refining cleanser. neutrogena.® but kate -- still looks like...kate. nice'n easy with colorblend technology gives expert highlights and lowlights. for color that's true to you. i don't know how she does it. with nice'n easy, all they see is you. with nice'n easy, at tyco integrated security, we consider ourselves business optihow?rs. by building custom security solutions that integrate video, access control, fire and intrusion protection.

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those developments over there. meanwhile there was a stock sell-off yesterday. >> yeah, that's something investors get nervous about. investors nervous about the fact that the government said it was sending a missile defense system to guam to defend against possible launches from north korea. this is real, that's what wall street said. a lot of people took money off the table, but today a bounceback as the focus shifts to the bank of japan's new policy decision aimed at fighting against deflation. so move from the bank of japan people are watching, not necessarily the north korea situation. also, interesting tech news, zynga offering online gambling with real money. so far, it's only in the uk, but online gambling is banned in most u.s. states. investors optimistic, though, that it could soon be offered here. zynga's shares surged nearly 15% yesterday. that's a very big one-day move. offering real money gambling is a play to tap into a highly lucrative market. zynga built its brand on facebook games like farmville, but they aren't as popular as

they once were, so you could see that being a natural fit. by the way, a big announcement from facebook. the company is not giving details, but a lot of folks are expecting them to unveil a phone this afternoon. rumor is it will be powered by the android operating system. the big goal is advertising. it's facebook's primary revenue source. the company has struggled to figure out how to make money off its mobile users, especially overseas. but as one facebook analyst says, that facebook phone would enable it to get as close to its users as possible. okay, from phones to televisions, talk of an apple tv set. one analyst says he has the details pf brian white of topeka capital markets says he visited suppliers in china and taiwan and believes the so-called itv could cost between $1,500 and $2,500 and go on sale this year. other possible specs, a 60-inch screen, berman. imagine the kind of baseball you can watch on that. and instead of a remote, a ring that you put on your finger, the power. late steve jobs said he wanted

to remake tv. rumors about this have been swirling for years, but how interesting that an analyst goes to factories in taiwan and china and is trying to sniff out what they're doing? that's how big this announcement is. >> i'm fixated on the ring instead of the remote control. you have to be like the green lantern to watch tv? >> steve jobs wanted to -- >> be the green lantern? >> no, look, apple has remade your phone, how you do your music, right? why not your tv? >> tv on. all right, anyway, 26 minutes after the hour. new fallout this morning for that rutgers coach caught on camera berating and abusing his players. he may not be the only one punished there. plus, kevin ware speaks out. the support he's getting from the white house, coming up next. [ female announcer ] when a woman wears a pad she can't always move the way she wants. now you can. with stayfree ultra thins. flexible layers move with your body while thermocontrol wicks moisture away. keep moving. stayfree.

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anxious hours from north korea to washington. the white house treading carefully, trying to figure out if kim jong-un means business. did you see this towering inferno caught on camera? >> wow. >> new information from the scene of this high-rise firefight. so, will the other shoe drop at rutgers university? the basketball coach already fired for abusive behavior caught on video. now his bosses are taking heat. welcome back to "early start," general. i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans in for zoraida today, thursday, april 4th, half past the hour. let's get you up to date. new threats from north korea this morning. the north is threatening to block workers from the south from entering a shared sdril complex, saying they might shut the industrial complex down and

threatening attacks on the u.s., warning "the moment of explosion is approaching fast," while the pentagon is scrambling to move a missile defense system to its bases in guam two years ahead of schedule. there is also word out of washington this morning that it may be time for the u.s. to turn down the volume on this. jim clancy live for us in seoul, south korea. jim, new reports that the north moved a missile to the coast. the u.s. replying by deploying a missile defense system. what do you make of these actions? it's troubling. >> reporter: well, you know what you make of it is, what we're hearing are a series of threats coming from the north that say be very afraid of us, and i think south korea and washington are saying, we'd rather be prepared, and that's what they're doing. they're responding. they're taking some of these threats seriously, but at the same time, many people say that this is, after all, just bluster. you look at the missile threat itself. the u.s. for some weeks now has been anticipating a test of a

north korean missile system to come at some point. that's why they moved a couple of missile destroyers as well as that radar platform off the coast of the korean peninsula, to monitor that very, very closely. and the move on guam, yes, it's reflected there, but it's not thought that even today that north korea has missiles that would be capable of hitting guam with any kind of accuracy. the range is that far but not an accurate range. christine? >> so, what's the significance, jim, of north korea's actions and threats regarding this industrial complex? i mean, i know that it's seen as one of the rare symbols of cooperation between these two countries. so, saying that the south can't go -- people from south korea can't go to work there really is making a statement about ratcheting back that cooperation, isn't it? >> reporter: yeah. well, you know, they haven't gone all the way. they've threatened to go all the way today and pull out their 53,000 workers. of course, that's going to cost

them. really, north korea has been angered by the media right here in seoul that have been quick to point out, while he's making all these other threats, he wasn't closing down that complex because he's earning that hard currency, and he likes that hard currency. the north said again today, that's insulting, and if you say it again, we're going to pull out all of our workers. well, somebody probably will say it again. you know, kaesong was closed back in 2009, similarly during the heightened tensions because of u.s./south korean joint military maneuvers. it could happen again. whether or not it has a future, this is the bigger question. there's no other area for them to cooperate, christine. >> all right, jim clancy live for us this morning in seoul. thanks, jim. 33 minutes after the hour. government offices in kaufman county, texas, will be closed today so co-workers can attend a public memorial for slain d.a. mike mclelland and his wife, cynthia. a funeral will follow tomorrow. investigators still trying to find a link between their killings and the deadly shooting

of the chief prosecutor mark hathey almost two months ago. an official confirmed to cnn, we haven't come close to charging anyone. alabama getting tougher on abortion providers, lawmakers passing a bill for clinics to be emergency health care providers and it makes it a felony for anyone other than a doctor to perform an abortion and requires minors to ask about the father. a monster apartment fire in russia. flames raced up this 40-story residential skyscraper on wednesday. it may have been caused by a short circuit. look at the pictures. more than 100 firefighters were able to put out the fire a few hours ago. dozens of people were evacuated. amazingly, look at that, amazingly no one was hurt. wow. new fallout from that video showing the rutgers university basketball coach physically and verbally abusing players at basketball practice. >> the coach, mike rice, has now been fired, and this morning the school's athletic director and

president are under scrutiny for their handling of the case. cnn's pamela brown has been following this for us. good morning, pam. >> good morning, john. it appears this story is far from over. in the wake of the firing of mike rice, the attention turns to tim pernetti. after a 24-hour tidal wave of public outrage over this video -- [ bleep ] -- mike rice's three-year tenure as rutgers university head basketball coach abruptly came to an end wednesday. in a mea culpa, he acknowledged his behavior was out of bounds. >> there's no explanation for what's on those films, because there is no excuse for it. i was wrong, and i want to tell everybody who's believed in me that i'm -- that i'm deeply

sorry for the pain and the hardship that i've caused them. >> reporter: rice was initially suspended for three games and fined back in december, but after the video went viral, athletic director tim pernetti scrambled to defend his decision. here's what he said tuesday. >> we're taking this first offense as an opportunity to re-educate mike rice on the rutgers standard. >> reporter: on wednesday morning, an about-face. pernetti announced rice was fired after attempts to rehabilitate him. >> the statement that the athletic director's attempt to rehabilitate someone who engaged in repeated behavior like this is really pretty appalling. and again, the precedent for having even kept him for this amount of time is pretty appalling. and rutgers does not come out of this looking particularly good. >> reporter: rutgers students are reacting to the fallout, some saying pernetti should go, too. >> i think the athletic director's probably going to get fired now. he deserves, you know, he let it go on for this long. >> why did he wait this long and

wait for, you know, it to be public and blow up on national television on espn, on youtube, to go, okay, maybe we should stop this because we're getting, you know, negative exposure. >> reporter: and for the first time, we're hearing from former players who were subject to rice's attacks. tyree graham spent two years playing for rice and says he was just trying to motivate players. >> he's not as bad as the media right now is making him seem. coach rice, you know, he's one of those guys that, you know, he's a passionate, don't get me wrong, but at the same time, a lot of those times on the film when he's throwing a ball at a player, he was joking. >> reporter: a local basketball coach, rick pitino, who's known to get angry on occasion, says rice's extreme behavior is well beyond the norm. >> you know, i've never seen anything like that before. and i'm sure that there's a different side of him that really cares about his players, but that was difficult to watch

to say the least. >> reporter: and now, new jersey state officials saying that they plan on holding hearings over how the university handled the situation. >> a lot of professors upset there, as you see in your piece. a lot of people talking about it. >> in fact, there is a petition circulating to fire this president as well. >> i bet there are coaches around the country looking hard at how they motivate students, dialing it back. >> they need to change the culture here, so we'll see what happens. >> thanks, pam. >> thanks. >> nice to see you. an inspiring story in the world of sports. louisville's kevin ware speaking out for the first time since that horrific leg injury during his team's ncaa regional final victory on sunday. the 20-year-old sophomore says he won't let the injuries hold him back from continuing his career. ware talked with cnn's rachel nichols about all the support he's received, including one fan from the white house. >> the first lady, michelle

obama, called you. >> yeah. >> and rick pitino said you're now the coolest guy he knows. he says the president calling, fine, he calls sports people, but michelle obama? >> i'm so sad because i actually don't remember speaking to her, but they're telling me she called. >> please call him back. >> please, if she called, please call back, please, i would appreciate it because it's a once in a lifetime thing, you know? and i know the president chose us to lose in the bracket, but i'll forgive him. >> he still holds a grudge against the president for picking against him. you can see it there. mrs. obama, please call him back, that would be nice. >> painkillers, he can't remember. >> ware plans on being with his teammates in atlanta for the final four this weekend. coming up, stunning prison footage, inmates with gugns, shooting up drugs, caught on the camera of a cell phone. the search for how, how in the world this is allowed to happen. and president obama giving a little back on the government straight from his very own bank account.

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welcome back. we have video this morning that will make you look twice, three times, you know, even more. take a look at this shocking prison footage showing inmates living dangerously and living in deplorable conditions. the men in charge of running that jail and others in orleans parish, louisiana, sheriff marlon guzman is set to take the stand this morning to testify about those conditions under oath as part of a hearing over proposed jail reform. sara ganim now with more on that chilling tape. >> reporter: an inmate with a gun in a cell packed with prisoners. another appears to be shooting up heroin, all caught on video on a cell phone smuggled into the jail. inmates free to roam, even leave. this incredible footage was shown in a federal courtroom in a lawsuit over how to pay to fix horrifying prison conditions. >> no gloves on, no net.

>> reporter: the footage is several years old, recorded at the now-closed house of detention in orleans parish. the southern poverty law center says this facility was not alone. many others just as bad in orleans parish are still open. they, along with several former inmates, sued the sheriff, marlon guzman, last april. he's in charge of running the jail. as shocking as it is to watch this video, reading the details in the lawsuit is just as disturbing. mental health patients denied care. inmates beaten by staff and raped by other prisoners. guards instigating fights. this father lost his 32-year-old son to suicide in the prison two years ago. >> hearing some of the testimony and looking at some of the video of the jail itself, i cannot imagine the conditions of any

human being living in those conditions. >> reporter: southern poverty law center and the sheriff's office reached a settlement in december. it was agreed that changes would be made to make the prisons more safe, but change costs money, money the city says it doesn't have. that's why the case is still in court. the city's mayor says taxpayers are already investing more than $200 million to build new facilities. in a statement to cnn, the mayor said, "i cannot in good conscience cut vital services or raise taxes to put even more money into an office where waste, fraud and abuse run rampant." instead, he wants the federal government to step in and take control from the sheriff. >> he's been aware of these conditions since 2008, and the conditions have gotten worse. >> reporter: all of this takes us back to the disaster the new orleans area just can't seem to fully recover from, hurricane katrina. in a statement, the sheriff said

these were temporary facilities he was forced to use after the storm flooded parish prison. eight of those temporary jails still house inmates today. sara ganim, cnn. >> wow. all right, president obama deciding to donate 5% of his $400,000-a-year salary back to the treasury department. the white house says he wants to share in the sacrifice being made by federal workers who are affected by those forced spending cuts. the president will cut a check for the next 12 months totaling $20,000. a little bit of a reality check, berman, it doesn't make that much of a dent, $20,000 in the grand scheme of what we owe. they must cut $7 million from the annual budget. >> i don't think he's doing it to wipe out the debt. >> i know. >> i think it's in solidarity of the workers furloughed. >> symbolic, but when you look at how much a month the government spends more than it takes in $20,000 --

>> there's a problem there. >> it doesn't hurt him, doesn't help the treasury. it's just an interesting story. >> there you have it. so, it is official, another interesting story, we might say. jay leno out again. next, a look at the legacy that he leaves behind at "the tonight show." plus, we're going to get david letterman's response. [ female announcer ] switch to swiffer 360 duster extender, and you'll dump your old duster. swiffer 360 duster extender cleans high and low, with thick all around fibers that attract and lock up to two times more dust than a feather duster. swiffer gives cleaning a whole new meaning. the battle of bataan, 1942. [ all ] fort benning, georgia, in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto-insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

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after weeks of rumor and speculation about the future of jay leno and "the tonight show," nbc has made it official now. late-night host jimmy fallon will replace leno next year, and the show will return to new york. fallon addressed the transition during last night's monologue. >> you guys probably heard the news i'm going to be taking over for "the tonight show" next february. [ cheers and applause ] but don't worry, until february, our focus is right here on whatever this show is called.

>> cnn's nick valencia now with a closer look at nbc's seismic shift in late-night, take two. >> today i accepted a new position. i am going to be the head basketball coach at rutgers university. thank you very much! >> reporter: with a touch of his trademark humor, jay leno announced he'll step down as host of nbc's "tonight show," a spot he's had for over 20 years. stepping into the gig will be 38-year-old jimmy fallon, a seemingly strategic move by nbc to attract a coveted younger viewing audience. >> you know, jay leno's getting up there in years. yes, he has a great audience, yes, they're very loyal, but they're getting older, too. jimmy brings in the young audience, the advertiser dollar audience. >> reporter: tv critic maggie furlong says leno's departure marks a new era in late-night entertainment. what kind of legacy will jay leno leave behind? >> leno will always be on the list with johnny carson and jack paar, these late-night guys that made "the tonight show" what it is today.

>> reporter: as a change, they will leave the burbank studios and return to its original home in new york. fans lining up to see wednesday's "tonight show" taping had mixed reaction to the news. >> it would be sad to see jay go. we love him. we've spent yearsll don't think true. i really -- >> it's true, mom. he's kind of old. he's got to go. >> he's not. >> jimmy, he's an up-and-coming, you know, i love jimmy. >> reporter: brorts a possible "tonight show" switch-up have been circulating for weeks. leno and fallon hinted at the change and even joked about an alleged rivalry in a skit earlier this week. >> jay, can i ask you something? we're still friends, right? >> reporter: the friendly exchange is quite a contrast from 2009, when nbc tried to change up "the tonight show" by installing conan o'brien. the peacock network seems to be laying the ground for a smoother transition this time around. >> i want to congratulate my good friend, jimmy fallon. he is a hell of a guy. he's going to do a great job. jimmy, don't let it slip into

sixth! we're counting on you! >> reporter: and for leno loyalists, he'll still be on air for another year. nick valencia, cnn, hollywood. >> another year. >> another year. david letterman had plenty to say about the nbc late-night shake-up on his show last night. >> how many of you folks earlier today saw the white smoke coming out of the chimney at nbc? anybody see that? ha! we have a new pope! ha, ha! i got a call from my mom today. she says, well, david, i see you didn't get "the tonight show" again. >> so, letterman even had a leno-themed top ten list last night and pointed out that he'll soon be the only network late-night host not named jimmy. okay, more rain forecast for parts of the south with a chance of severe thunderstorms across florida and georgia. who's going to get it next? we've got jennifer delgado for that. >> that's right. hey, jennifer. >> hi, guys. you're right, we're getting it

down here in atlanta right now, but it's going to be making its way towards parts of the northeast as we move through tomorrow. but right now on the radar, you can see a lot of lightning off the coastline of florida as well as to the south of louisiana, and a little bit of that snow, a little bit of a sleet mix through parts of oklahoma. that's very light stuff. it's not going to amount to much. but as we focus on atlanta, maybe you're flying into or out today, you'll see delays with the storms potentially trying to get stronger through the afternoon. national, hea nashville, heavy rain, but florida, rain is coming down and still lightning across sarasota. speaking of florida, we will see the chance for some of those storms to become strong, bringing potentially large hail as well as damaging winds, and we can't rule out that isolated tornado, and that includes even the southern part of georgia, that florida panhandle and down towards the peninsula, so keep an eye to the skies, as we always say to you. rainfall totals two to four inches across central florida. as we move up the coastline, for areas like georgia as well as into the carolinas, one to two

inches of rainfall. and as i said, that will be making its way through the mid-atlantic and northeast on friday. so, get ready for the rain. but for today, a lot of sunshine around for the northeast and the same for the southwest. high temperatures look a lot better for today. we're talking 50s out there as well as the 60s. i think you'll take that in new york. back over to you two. >> baby steps. thank you, jennifer, appreciate it. >> baby steps are right. 55 minutes after the hour. for five years, he wore a prison uniform and now an nfl jersey. an amazing story of second chances, coming up. did you know that if you wear a partial, you are almost twice as likely to lose the supporting teeth? even subtle movement of your partial can put stress on supporting teeth. this could lead to further tooth loss. try new poligrip® seal and protect denture adhesive. it stabilizes your partial to help reduce movement against gums and supporting teeth. care for your partial. help protect your natural teeth with new poligrip® for partials. also try polident® clean and protect denture cleanser to kill 99.9% of odor causing bacteria. this has been medifacts for polygrip® for partials.

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welcome back, everyone. a quick look at what's trending on cnn right now. from prison to the pros, the atlanta falcons have signed brian banks for a shot at an inside linebacker position. banks spent five years in prison and five more on probation for crimes he did not commit. a classmate accused him of rape when he was just a 16-year-old high school star bound for usc. he she later recanted. banks' record was wiped clean last year and now he gets a chance to play. >> that story gives me goose bumps. i wish him all the best. "early start" continues right "early start" continues right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com missile crisis on the korean peninsula, washington walking a fine line as the north threatens nuclear attack. murder at one of the most secure spots in america. a manhunt under way right now after a shooting at ft. knox. shark attack at a vacation hotspot. new this morning, a surfer survives after being bitten just off the beach. you guys probably heard the news i'm going to be taking over

for "the tonight show" next february. >> i want to congratulate my good friend jimmy fallon. he is a hell of a guy. >> passing the baton on "the tonight show." leno's out, guy. >> passing the baton on "the tonight show." good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm christi romans. >> i'm john berman. it is thursday, april 4th. 6:00 a.m. in the east. a lot of news to tell you about this morning. more ships launching more missile defense ships this morning, dangerous on the korean peninsula which might be the world's number one hot spot right now. the north threatening to block workers from the south to enter a shared industrial complex, even bound to shut the facility down. pyongyang promising a tax against the u.s., what they call smaller, lighter, adiversified nuclear force and an explosion is approaching fast. the pentagon is saying they're going to move one to the u.s. base in guam two years ahead of

schedule but there's also word the white house wants to dial back the rhetoric a bit. dan lothian is live in washington but, first, jim clancy in seoul, south korea. jim, a lot going on right now. >> reporter: a lot going on and it just keeps happening hour by hour. a lot unsubstantiated. that's n as much of a threat as the convention alarms that are known to be in north korea's possession and that's why there was so much interest stirred today when south korea's defense ministry announced that they had deteched that some of these medium range missiles had been moved to the eastern coast of the korean peninsula either for a drill or for a potential test that could come imminently. listen to what the defense ministry spokesman had to say. >> translator: we are maintaining the weapon readiness

posture, especially after today's movement of the anti-airborne operations. i believe we are fully prepared to control the critical situation. >> reporter: in the midst of all of this swirling propaganda, the shutdown of at least the blockade of the caisson industrial park with some 53,000 north koreans are employed by 123 south korean firms, all of these things coming together. that's really the only symbol that there is here in the peninsula of cooperation between the two sides. a lot of people would hate to see that shu down. that's just what the north is threatening to do. but the u.s. and seoul tonight are just very determined to continue their cooperation, their military exercises. instead of being very afraid, they want to be very prepared. >> jim clancy in south korea. it really does seem like this is getting more serious every morning. >> the question this morning is how is the u.s. administration

handling. the flexing of u.s. military mite has pushed north korea too far. the obama administration has decided to turn down the volume. white house correspondent dan lothian live from washington with more. dan, are the north koreans very difficult to gauge. obviously these things are just fraught with tension. earlier here this week the north koreans called americans boiled pumpkins. the rhetoric is very strange. at the same time, the u.s. has to be very careful not to back them in a corner. >> that is true. the sense at least according to that report is that perhaps kim jong-un may have been pushed much further than they intended and that's why they intend to dial things back. the u.s. has really been ramping up its presence in the region starting early last month, march 8th, when the b-52 bombers were sent to fly over south korea. u.s. officials saying that was par of a routine mission. they followed up that about 2 1/2 weeks later with another

similar mission. then came those stealth bombers. followed that earlier this week with navy warships going to the region to better monitor the situation inside north korea. and then word coming yesterday that the u.s. plans to send a missile defense system to guam. all of this, according to the report, is part of a playbook signed off on by the administration to try and lower the temperature in the region but now apparently dialing things back as the u.s. assesses the situation there. christine? >> dan lothian, live for news washington. thanks, dan. happening right now, the search for a gunman who opened fire at fort knox killing a civilian worker for the army. this is one of the most secure locations in the country. it happened in a parking lot. they describe it as a personal incident. it didn't prompt a temporary lock down. the victim's identity not released. a manhunt for two members of the white supremist gang 211 crew. they are wanted in connection of the murder of tom clements. 47-year-old james loer,

31-year-old thomas goulee are considered armed and dangerous. one or both of them could be headed to nevada. el paso county sheriff's spokesman would not say whether they knew evan ebel accuse of killing clements. a letter surfaced. in it he discusses fantasies about catching prison guards once he's freed and torturing and killing them. the letter is signed with a swastika calling himself big bad evil evan ebel. coming up tonight on cnn's "ac 360," exclusive interview with the wife of tom klem mentsz. connecticut putting the toughest gun laws on the books after the massacre of the sandy hook elementary cool. they listed these to the list of banned assault weapons. governor dan malloy will sign it

at noon today. also new this morning. california surfer attacked by a monster shark on a hawaiian vacation hot spot. it happened wednesday morning on the beach. the 58-year-old described the shark's head as the size of the basketball. he's being treated for two deep gash toes his right thigh. a fellow surfer from detroit saw it all go down. >> at one point i saw a large shadow. i really thought it was a seal. a few minutes later i heard this big splash. another guy in the water, me and the other guy. it kind of hit me that was probably a shark. >> county lifeguards say based on the man's injuries that shark may have been anywhere from eight to ten feet long. we're learning more this morning about a ship yark worker swept into an alabama river. the guard shack he was in was blown into the water yesterday as carnival "strictriumph" was repaired. shannon, tell us what happened. >> good morning, christine.

literally just blowing people away. the guard shack, 50- to 70-mile-an-hour wind there's in mobile, alabama. near hurricane force winds. it just blew the shack into the water. there were two guards in the shack, christine. one of them was rescued. the other as you mentioned is missing. there's a full-on search under way to find that guard. the second thing that happened with these massive winds. the carnival ship cruise -- the carnival cruise ship "triumph" was yanked out of its anchors at a repair dock. this ship, christine, 900 feet long, 14 stories tall, to give you a sense of how strong those winds were. just literally sent the ship adrift in the t waters for a while. the coast guard is giving us images that it actually collided with another boat. take a listen to one witness as he described what he saw. >> we was outside and it was a

steady rain. nothing serious. all of a sudden, by the time we made it into the maritime museum, someone said, oh, my god, look at the carnival cruise ship. i seen three portalettes going by. that got my attention. you could see the carnival cruise ship come out of the bae systems. >> "triumph" is secure right now and crew officials tell us none of the contractors or workers on board were harmed in any way. this obviously, christine, is the same "triumph" ship that had that nightmare in february where they had the engine fire and over 4,000 people on board suffered those horrific conditions. some people are wondering if this ship is cursed or not. >> and that ship, a series of mishaps from carnival cruise, this ship and others before. >> that's right. there are four of carnival's 23 ships that have been having problems and carnival is facing

a class action lawsuit for what happened with "triumph" in february. yeah, there's a lot going on. a lot of bad news for the cruise line. >> shannon travis, thanks. eight minutes after the hour. dehydrated, confused but alive. one hiker has been found but his friend is still lost in the backcountry of orange county, california. the two cal state students went hiking sunday. couldn't find their way out. their cellphone died before searchers could nail down their exact location. 19-year-old anything clause gendoya was found last night. searchers say they are confident they will find 18-year-old kyndall jack. athletic director and school president could be out. mike rice is apologizing for his abusive action toward players. rice was fired after the video went viral. he calls his actions, quote, inexcusable. others are looked at for not firing him. instead he was fined and received a three-game suspension.

so the kings of late night reacting to the news that jimmy fallon will replace jay leno as the host of the "tonight" show, that will happen february of 2014. hear jimmy fallon last night. >> so excited to just keep working hard and trying to make the best show that we can along with you guys. i think thanks to jay leno. he's so gracious. i know this whole thing is -- >> so leno is out again. but this time there appears to be no hard feelings. still, after congratulating fallon jay couldn't help but take another swipe at nbc. >> i just have one request of jimmy. we've all fought, kicked, and scratched to get this network up to fifth place. okay? now we have to keep it there. jimmy, don't let us slip into sixth. we're counting on you. we're counting on you. >> nbc making a big move. "tonight show" coming back here to new york city where it was

years and years ago. >> i think other all very classy about it. ten minutes after the hour. coming up, sheriff shot to death as he sat in his patrol car. more on this attack and the alleged suspect in a live report. departure. hertz gold plus rewards also offers ereturn-- our fastest way to return your car. just note your mileage and zap ! you're outta there ! we'll e-mail your receipt in a flash, too. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. since aflac is helping with his expenses while he can't work, he can focus on his recovery. he doesn't have to worry so much about his mortgage, groceries, or even gas bills. kick! kick... feel it! feel it! feel it! nice work! ♪ you got it! you got it! yes! aflac's gonna help take care of his expenses. and us...we're gonna get him back in fighting shape. ♪ [ male announcer ] see what's happening behind the scenes at ducktherapy.com. the act of soaring across an ocean

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start," everybody. we've been tell you about a string of shootings of public officials. the assistant district attorney in that same county shot to death. the chief of colorado prison system shot and killed recently. now a shooting in west virginia to tell you about. this morning police have a suspect in custody in this case. authorities in mingo county are investigating a death in the sheriff known for tough stance on drugs. maynard parked his car close to crum's stuuv. candiotti is live in west virginia. susan, any indication of a motive in this case? >> reporter: not just yet. and frankly, john, people are wondering whether all of those other shootings happening around the country might have anything at all to do with this, might have prompted this, too, to happen. we do know this, that the sheriff had only taken office about three months ago. and we have already learned that

the suspect, when he was caught, said something to investigators. now, they're not revealing what it was, but it might be part of the motive, might give them some answers. we know that the suspect used a .40 caliber glock and we don't know how he got his hands on it when all of this happened. about noontime yesterday just a couple blocks from the courthouse here where i am standing. the sheriff was during his lunch break. he often ate lunch in his car. when police say someone walked up to the vehicle, the suspect. picked up a gun, pointed point blank into the sheriff's window, his marked vehicle, and shot twice, firing and striking the sheriff twice in his head. then the suspect took off, police say. they caught up with him, gave chase, and when he got out of his vehicle they said he pointed his gun at him and they shot him twice in the chest. this is just stunning to this entire community. >> you mention no motive yet. still searching for that. any other information about this suspect right now?

>> reporter: well, they're saying he's 37-year-old, as you indicated. if he has a prior record, they're t not telling us. his father tells our cnn affiliate wsaz that his son suffer fred mental problems, but not saying exactly what that was all about and he also added that he might have done more. there's going to be a vigil tonight here at this courthouse to memorialize sheriff eugene crum. >> susan candiotti in west virginia. 16 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date. the tough talk continues for north korea with the communist nation now threatening to block workers from the south from entering a shared industrial complex. even vowing to shut the facility down all together. the north is also pledging to launch nuclear attacks against u.s. north carolina family in shock this morning. their mother's body found in her car days after it was pulled from a ditch and towed to an impound lot. the state trooper's report friday said no driver was found

in the car but police discovered her body in the driver's seat three days later after the family reported her missing. >> they didn't do their job. >> that's right. she laid in that car. >> they were looking for her pocket book and the keys and when they started searching that's when shea found her body in the car. >> the trooper who missed the body is on paid leave while the state investigates. remember this? ♪ it's the kony 201 media campaign. now they are offering $5 million for information leading to the arrest, transfer, or convictions of joseph kony and two other top leaders of the lord's resistance army. it's a violent rebel group from uganda scattered throughout central africa kanchts two men dead after a helicopter crashed and burst into flames. witnesses could hear the engine sputtering before the chopper plunged straight down.

ntsb spokesman said initial reports show there were birds in the area and may have been a problem with the helicopter's tail rotor. 50 feet down to the pavement, this suv took a terrifying plunge last night in downtown atlanta. you see firefighters put a neck brace on the driver. he may have had a medical problem. all four people in the jeep went to the hocht but spital. the driver was cited for t not having a license. attention, a rare florida panther returned to the wild. scientists hope they he will do his part to keep this species going. their mother had died. the sister was released in february. they have monitoring collars on so wildlife experts can keep track of them. fewer than 200 panthers are believed to be left in south florida. call it a case of sheer embarrassment. corporate transparency. coming up, a company forced to pull yoga pants off store

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the sun rising over new york city, another beautiful, yet chilly, day here. minding your business this morning, stock futures point to a higher opening after yesterday's sell-off. >> wall street happy to hear the bank of japan taking radical steps aimed to stop two decades of inflation. japan is the world's third largest economy. huge trading partner of ours. yesterday there were concerns about north korea. today looking toward japan. okay, remember the see through lululemon yoga pants pulled from store shelves? heads are rolling. lululemon's product officer is leaving the pant. the fabric did meet standards,

just at the low end of the threshold. >> the not being see through threshold? >> it turns out they were threshold. lululemon found the testing protocols were incomplete. you think so? okay. how much would you pay for a baseball card? you know, me, maybe a quarter if it came with gum. what about $1.6 million? that's how high the bidding has reached for the honus wagner baseball card. could hit 2 $1/2 million for a baseball card? pretty wear. only 50 wagner cards in existence. this one is in good condition. wagner made the american tobacco company recall it because he didn't want kids to buy cigarettes. so he didn't want his image to be used on something that was pushing cigarettes so he had them recall. there are only like 50 left. >> legendary card. >> bidding ends tomorrow. legendary investment, apparently. big announcement for facebook today.

it's expected to unveil a phone, facebook phone this afternoon. rumor is the phone will be made by htg and powered by the android operating system. the big goal is advertising its facebook primary revenue source. it's struggled how to figure out how to make money off the mobile users, especially overseas. so the phone, the phone. what's the one thing we need to know about our money? >> if you're changing jobs, be careful with what you do with your 401(k). >> what do you know? >> i know nothing about you. a new gao study finds most financial firms encourage workers to roll their money into an ira. often it's not the best choice and it will cost you thousands of dollars in fees which aren't always up front. the firms aren't always up front about it. interesting gao study, you've got to be careful when you switch jobs and roll over your 401(k). you could be paying more than you need to. we have new information just in to cnn at this hour on the murder of two prosecutors in

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the basketball coach already fired for his abusive behavior caught on video. now there's talk his bosses could be next. welcome back to "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it's thursday, april 4th. it's 30 minutes past the hour. new developments this morning from the koreas. the north is threatening to shut down an industrial complex that shares with the south. and promising nuclear attacks against the u.s., warning the moment is, quote, fast approaching. while the pentagon scrambles to move a defense system to the u.s. bases in guam, two years ahead of schedule. there's also word out of the white house that -- word out that the white house is trying to turn down the volume for fear of angering north korea even more. jim clancy with the latest this morning from seoul, south korea. >> more threats coming out of north korea this day really repetitions of what we have heard in the past, but south korea's defense ministry says that it has confirmed north korea has moved an intermediate

range missile to its eastern coast. that's an area where the u.s. already has two destroyers as well as a radar platform. the u.s. and south korea both aren anticipating some kind of a missile test to come from the north. all of this comes just a day after the u.s. is moving sophisticated anti-missile defense system to its island bases on guam. meantime, caisson north korea continues to block south koreans from getting into the site. and again, on thursday, it warned that it could pull all 53,000 of the north korean workers out of the facility, thus, shutting it down. the north is particularly angry at media in south korea who have criticized caisson remaining open because it earns cash for kim jong-un and they say that lack of respect for their leader could be a reason, a motivation for them just to shut caisson down, in their words,

mercifulnessly. the u.s. and south korea appear not to be taking the fear factor too seriously at this point. instead, they are working to be prepared. jim clancy, cnn, seoul. a reward of up to $200,000 now being offered for information leading top arrest and indictment of the killer or killers of district attorney mike mclelland and his wife cynthia for kreef felony prosecutor mark hasse. co-workers will attend a public memorial for the mclellands. a funeral to follow tomorrow. they are seeing if there a link between the three killings. alabama getting tougher on abortion providers while lawmakers passing a bill that makes clinics raise standards to the level of emergency health care centers and makes it a felony for anyone other than a physician perform an abortion.

requires doctors to ask the pregnant minors about the father of the baby. new information this morning about that towering apartment inferno in russia. stunning. 40-story residential skyscraper in chechnya wednesday. it may have been caused by a short circuit. no injuries reported. more than 100 firefighters were able to put that fire out just a few hours ago. we're hearing for the first time from the juror who was dismissed from the jody arias trial. he said, quote, for the past three months i have been fulfilling my duty as one of the jurors in the jas of jodi arias. so still more ahead may roll at rutgers university. men's basketball coach mike rice physically and verb verb ali abusing players in practice. the coach is apologizing for his

behavior after being fired yesterday. >> rutgers athletic director and president gave him a three-game suspension. cnn's pamela brown has been following this story for us. >> good morning. you could see some more fallout in the wake of yesterday's firing of mike rice. the question looms whether athletic director tim pernetti will keep his job. after a 24-hour tidal wave of public outrage over this video. >> [ bleep ]. [ bleep ]. >> reporter: mike rice's three-year tenure as rutger's university head basketball coach abruptly came to an end wednesday. he acknowledged his behavior was out of bounds. >> there's no explanation for what's on those films because there is no excuse for it. i was wrong. and i want to tell everybody who

has believed in me that i'm -- that i'm deeply sorry for the pain and the hardship that i caused. >> reporter: rice was initially suspended for three games and fined back in december right after the video went viral athletic director tim pernetti scrambled to defend his decis n decision. this is tuesday. >> we're taking this first offense as an opportunity to reeducate mike rice on the rutger standards. >> reporter: on wednesday morning, an about face. pe pernetti announced rice was fired after attempts to rehabilitate him. >> the statement that the athletic director attempt to rehabilitate someone who engaged in repeated behavior like this is really pretty appalling and, again, that the precedent for having even kept him for this amount of time is pretty galling and rutgers does not come out of this looking particularly good, no. >> reporter: rutgers students are reacting to the fallout. some saying pernetti should go,

too. >> i think the athletic director is probably going to get fired now. he deserves -- he let it go on for this long. >> why did he wait this long and wait for, you know, it to be public and blow up on national television, on espn, on youtube to go, okay, maybe we should stop this because we're getting negative eggs pxposure. >> reporter: and for the first time we're hearing from former players. tyree graham spent two years playing for rice and said he was just trying to motivate players. >> less not as bad as the media right now is making him seem. coach rice, you know, he's one of those guys that, he's very passionate. don't get me wrong. but at the same time, a lot of those times on the film when he was jacking up a player or throwing a ball at a player he was really joking. >> reporter: a louisville head basketball coach rick says his behavior is well beyond the norm. >> i've never seen anything like that before.

and i'm sure that there's a different side of him that really cares about his players. but that was difficult to watch, to say the least. >> reporter: now new jersey state officials are saying they're planning on holding hearings over how the university handles this situation. >> collearly a pr issue here. are there legal implications for this now fired coach and the university? >> what's interesting here, john, is there could be more legal implications for the university more than mike rice. and here's why. we spoke to a legal analyst and he tells was because the university made a deal with mike rice back in december, and now fired him, this could be a breach of contract. also, you have to remember that mike rice is a state employee. as an employee of rutgers university. so he has the right to certain protections as a result of that. but i will say that we heard his m

yesterday. >> it was filled with kind of humility right there. hard to imagine ensuing but we'll see. may have been the ugliest sports injury ever. now kevin ware is talking out it for the first time. the sophomore went up to contest a shot. when he came down his leg was shattered. the injury so gruesome that players, fans, millions of people watching at home had to turn away. >> coach just kind of gave me one of those looks like, like somebody just saw a ghost or something like that. and i'm looking at him like, you know, confused. i looked down at my leg and i'm just kind of like my arm. and i see my sneaker on but my leg is like this. i just go into automatic shock. >> ware says he won't let the injury hold him back. he plans to be with his louisville teammates in atlanta for the final four this weekend. checking cnn trends all over the papers this morning.

hot seat, leno's out. here's jimmy. also, hit the road, jay, in the "new york daily news." it is official, late night host jimmy fallon will take over for "the tonight show" from jay leno next february. fallon tweeted, today was one of the most exciting days of my life. i read every tweet and every post and i thank you. leno, really awkward day today. had to call letterman and tell him he didn't get the "tonight show" again. >>letterman had this last night. >> how many of you saw the white smoke coming out of the chimney at nbc? anybody see that? i got a call from my mom today. she says, well, david, i see you didn't get "the tonight show" again. >> i like that. laugh a little.

>> letterman even had a leno themed top ten list last night that will soon be the only network late night host not named jim 34i. they all have js. all the late night legends, all start with a "j." rare move by commander in cheefr. coming up, why president obama is giving back to the government straight from ois hen bank account. plus, your receding hairline and how it could mean you're at risk for something even more serious. we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility.

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"early start." >> coming up on "starting point," talking about north korea, upping the ante this morning. moved a medium-range missile to its east coast, raising concerns about a possible nuclear attack. are they bluffing or is this a new threat? we'll talk about that with former new mexico governor bill richardson. he's been to north korea several times. also talking to cnn military analyst and general james spider marks. and then the now former rutgers coach mike rice is apologizing after this video was rereleased showing him physically, verbally abusing players. we will talk with a former rutgers player who actually says the video isn't what it seems. also, he is an award winning actor starring in the hit show "the borgias." you pointed out he has been haunting your children not only

is he in "the borgias," frightening voice, frightening his little twins. >> he is the most charming person i've ever met. >> i think you have a crush. >> i do. >> thanks. >> thank you. rain and thunderstorms in parts of the south today. they are on the move, so who is going to get them next? jennifer delgado is at the cnn weather center. >> we're getting them. good morning. we're getting the storms down here for today. in fact, let's start up with a live shot out of atlanta to show you what rain looks like. maybe you haven't seen any in a while. starting off the morning you're looking at the centennial olympic park. if you look closely you can almost start to see some of the prep for the final four this weekend. it's raining now but the good news is it's going to dry out for the big games this weekend. as with head over to our radar and we point out some of the rain out there. storms from florida all of the way over towards parts of oklahoma where they're dealing with just a little bit of sleet as well as snow. that's really going to come to an end over the next hour. not going to amount to much. but nashville, you're looking at

a wet start as well. atlanta, birmingham. over across the coastline for areas, including south carolina. starting off the morning wet. for florida, central florida, you're going to pick up potentially two to four inches of rainfall in addition to stronger storms to arrive later into the afternoon as well as into the overnight hours. some of these storms could produce some hail, damaging winds, as well as isolated tornadoes. don't want to forget about southern georgia as well. all that rain is going to be moving somewhere. and it's going to move towards the mid atlantic as well as the northeast. and that's really going to start to make its way across the region. as we go into the overnight hours, through this carolinas, we stop the clock at 11:00. tomorrow morning, it's going to be wet in washington, d.c. as well as into new york. the good news is, the afternoon that pulls away and you're going to see the sky clearing out in the evening hours for parts of the northeast. high temperatures today getting better. especially for new york city. 52, 59 for friday. then you drop down on saturday

but you will have the sunshine. that will be the tradeoff. for atlanta, up and down, 46 for today. 71 by saturday. final four starts then. and then we want to show you some video right now coming out of california. this is another really cute video. it's our ah moment of the day. baby see lion cub and it's in the car. the sea lion was basically moving along on the roadway, injured and got into someone's car like, hey, help me out. i'm hungry. i'm dehydrated. luckily he's close to the san diego zoo so they took him right over there. isn't he cute? >> the sea lion thing. we've got to invest gate this further. we have a sea lion story every day. there was spec lei lags that maybe there was something happening to the sardines in the ocean and the food supply had a problem and coming inland to hydrate, and hungry. glad they are picking him up. >> glad he's got a home to go to. 46 minutes after the hour right now. and guys with thinning hair need

to take better care of their heart apparently. researchers in japan say they went through years of previous research into the possible links between hair loss and heart problems after adjusting for other risk factor pooik like age and family history. balding men are 32% more likely to have heart disease. doesn't seem fair, especially if the thinning is on the crown. talk about an one analyst says he knows, he has the details. brian white of topeka capital market visited suppliers in china and taiwan and he believes the apple tv could cost $1500 to $2500 and could go on sale this year instead of a remote, a ring you put on your finger. cool, right? the late steve jobs said he wanted to remake tv. remember, rumors have been swirling for years. we'll see if there's an apple tv. >> one ring to rule them all. the "lord of the rings" is going

to run your tv. >> what every marriage needs, to fight over the remote control, a fight for the ring. >> put a ring on it. all right. there is something wrong with this picture. take a look at this. this is shaquille o'neal's newly retired jersey. can you spot the mistake? look at that. the answer right after the break.

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deadly floods prompting argentina's president to claim three days flooding.

buenos aires was not spared. eight storm-related deaths have been reported there so far. president obama deciding to donate 5% of his $400,000 a year salary back to the treasury department. the white house says he wants to share in the sacrifice being made by federal workers who are also effected by the core spending cuts. the president will cut a check every month for the next 12 months totally $20,000. the president announcing plans to attend the education of the george w. bush library later this month. five current around former commanders in chief will be on hand, including george h.w. bush, bill clinton, and jimmy carter. i love it when all the presidents get to the. the final four is almost here. all the teams have arrived in the atlanta but the talk of the furnme tournament is the player who won't even be competing. >> andy has more. >> all eyes remain on louisville cardinal star kevin ware who suffered by far the worst injury we've ever seen on a basketball

court. we spoke with rachel nichols over what he's gone through. he says he never wants to see the video of his gruesome injury. >> i've seen pictures and i've seen it and quick glance of it. i just turn away from it because i kind of feel like me trying to get back on the basketball court that would just stop me from getting where i need to be. and i don't want to see the video. i don't plan on ever seeing the video, honestly. >> ware was with the cardinals as they arrived in atlanta last night. he plans on being with the team every step of the way including sitting on the bench saturday night when louisville takes on wichita state. the atlanta falcons are giving linebacker a second chance and it's one he deserves. back in 2002 banks was a highly recruited prospect when a classmate accused him of rape. he went to prison for five years. the woman eventually recanted her claim and offered to help banks clear his name after he was out of prison. his conviction was overturned and now banks will finally get

his chance to play in the nfl. this is one of the top stories on bleacherreport.com. and jack had his jersey retired but when it was place with the other eight jerseys it didn't look light. that's because it's backwards. o'neal and 34 is on front of the jersey instead of back. lakers realized their mistake and said it will be mixed before tomorrow night's game against memphis. if it's not a date at a baseball game. what not to do. home ball came flying into the seats. this guy jumped out of the way to safety allowing his girlfriend to get smacked right in the face. >> oh, no. >> i'm guessing it was not a pleasant ride home from the ballpark for those two. but, hey, not all baseball games in arizona end in doom. last night this guy pulled an engagement ring out of a baseball. as you can see his girlfriend pretty shocked but she would eventually say yes and seal it with a kiss. the at least one happy ending

comingut of the arizona diamondback game. >> when you do a proposal from a baseball, is the guy you're -- you're setting the standard for the marriage. you know? it's like you are know you are marrying a baseball fan. >> there's nothing wrong with that, is there? >> a little bit more romantic than letting your girlfriend get smacked in the face with a baseball. >> very true. >> thanks so much. "starting point" is moments away and we're back right after the break. i've always kept my eye on her... but with so much health care noise, i didn't always watch out for myself. with unitedhealthcare, i get personalized information

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moment of exbloegs plosion is c. that specifically is what north korea is saying this morning as it is threatening to use nuclear weapons against the united states. coming up next, we'll talk to one of the few americans with really an inside review of this communist country. former governor bill richardson. is the carnival cruise ship "triumph" cursed? the same ship that stranded people for days just had another accident. this time it may be deadly. hours after this disturbing video went public. we showed it to you all yesterday morning. we now know mike rice, fired. could the athletic director at the school be next? we will talk to a former rutgers player. and it's official, again. jay leno is leaving "the tonight show" again. >> you guys probably heard the news. i'm going to be taking over for "the tonight show" next february. >> congratulate jimmy fallon. he is a hell of a guy. >> i